THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

September 7, 2022

LIFE IN THE FOLD

A couple weeks ago my mother-in-law was in the hospital. While there, I had a conversation with a nurse, who was a believer. She made a statement that was so simple, yet so true. She said something along the lines that love comes from God, for God is love; therefore, we can only love, because of God.

As I was later thinking of that, I found many scriptures that backed that up. If you read 1 John, he writes a lot on the subject of love.

1 John 2:7-11 says, "Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment -- to love one another -- is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you are also living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. If anyone claims, 'I am living in the light,' but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness."

1 John 3:16-18: "We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion -- how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love one another; let us show the truth by our actions."

1 John 4:7-12: "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love -- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us."

Lastly, 1 John 4:16-21 say, "We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in god, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgement, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he first loved us. If someone says, 'I love God,' but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers."

This is a lot of scriptures, but the Word of God says things much better than anything I could ever write!

These verses are not merely a suggestion, but is a command for all believers. Obeying scriptures are difficult at times! We know the right thing to do and feel those nudges from the Holy Spirit when our attitude is wrong, or we speak critically or judgmentally, or we are not truly loving someone as we should. But it's often become a habit for us to justify why it's okay for us to feel or respond as we do. Instead of repenting and obeying, we find excuses to make us feel better about ourselves or to reason out why it's okay for us to act as we do.

Once we know what the Bible says about something, then it becomes our responsibility to respond and obey. We can't think, "I won't just read the Bible, so I won't know and don't have to make any changes." We will have no spiritual growth and our relationship with God will always remain very shallow and have no deep roots.

I planted tomato plants this year and the vines grew long and flowered; but I never got one single tomato that I could eat. The plant was putting all of its energy into growing vines, but produced no fruit. I tried pruning the vines to see if that would help, but waited until too late into the season before doing that.

Sometimes someone can look like they have it all together on the outside and look as if they are a good christian; yet they never produce any fruit. They know the right "church" things to say and do; yet they don't have the fullness of God living inside of them. They don't produce the love of God. The fruit of the spirit is not consistently evident in their life.

Read these verses in 1 John over and over again, until you really understand and get them in your heart and mind. Ask God to produce his love in you; then that that love will be evident to all who see and know you. Your family, friends, next door neighbor, people who cross your path in the grocery store or wherever you go will see the evidence of God's love pouring out of you.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

(The Gospel According to) John 15:13 goes even further. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Jesus gave up His life for us. Most of the disciples gave up their lives for Jesus (rather than denounce Him). And many early Christians died protecting the identities of other believers.

But laying down a life doesn't have to mean dying. It can also refer to giving up your life-style, your old hopes and dreams, your way of living.

As each person accepts Jesus and seeks Him above all, they may have parts of their lives they have to lay down. Some people have to lay down almost their entire lives. That is for our love for Jesus.

But we may also have to give up parts of our hopes or dreams for others. We might have to give up a relationship or job to stay home and help our parents or our children. It may even come in biting our tongues rather than saying what we really want to, simply because it would cause hurt. "I told you so" is probably the most common. It may also be trying to help someone adjust their lives when they aren't ready. But in love, we may have to give up on those desires, wishes, and hopes.

We may even have to lay down our deepest desires simply because it may cause someone else to stumble, become angry, or even become hateful.

ON THE MENEWE:

Oatmeal Pie

Mix all of the ingredients together, then pour into the pie crust.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My great-nephew started Pre-K when he was 4 years old. He had a difficult time adjusting. On his second day of school, his mama picked him up in the afternoon and he told her, "My heart broke in two today." She asked why and he responded, "I wanted you and you weren't there, so my heart broke all the way in two. But you don't need to take me to the doctor for a needle (shot) to fix it!"

Now that little boy is 13 years old!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Hope is the feeling that you will succeed tomorrow in what you failed at today. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org